Does Culture Affect Risk Perception?

Abstract

As forensic consultants in the areas of Human Factors and Safety, the authors have frequently been asked to testify on cases concerning the “reasonableness of conduct” and assumption of risk of plaintiffs and defendants. The principal goal of this study is to determine whether there are differences in risk-perception among various racial and cultural groups. Participants in the study identified themselves as either Caucasian, Mexican-American, Asian-American, or African-American. Risk perception was measured with a survey designed specifically for this research, which included items generated from activities that resulted in accidents frequently investigated by the authors. Subjects were selected from intact church congregations and ethnically identified social clubs. The independent variable in this study was the cultural or ethnic identity of the subjects. The dependent variable was risk perception. Using an ANOVA, cultural differences were found. Consistent with past research, women were found to perceive higher risk. Level of education was not found to be related to risk perception.